Friday, September 30, 2011

I've seen it. I can officially confirm that it exists (unlike Area 51). I get my big shipment, including the audio CDs for this book, on Monday afternoon. Then I go on a marathon of packaging and shipping. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR INCREDIBLE PATIENCE! Some fans pre-ordered this thing wayyyyy back in June. Soon all the secrets, as far as how this book weaves into the "Tennis Shoes Adventure Series", which Tennis Shoes characters are featured, etc., etc., will be out. And I can rest. Not really. I'm busily concocting plot and details for the next book! That is, when I'm not promoting this one. To pre-order at the last minute and be part of Monday's mailing extravagana, go to: http://www.frostcave.com/shop/!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

When I was in the 9th Grade at Cody Junior High School (in Cody, Wyoming. Where else?) I had a science teacher named Mr. Hurr. Now, Mr. Hurr was an intimdating dude who at one time had suffered an injury where he lost one of his hands. The prosthetic hand that replaced it must have been made out of cement, because on one occasion when an experiment required a bag of ice, Mr. Hurr felt the young female student was being too gentle with her hammer breaking the ice apart. He proceeded to pulverize the ice with his prosthetic. At the time we kids were very much into Steve Austin, "The Six-Million Dollar Man" whose lost limbs had been replaced with superhero counterparts. Yes, Mr. Hurr and his cement hand were certainly intimidating.

One day while lecturing Mr. Hurr made a statement that stuck with me for years. He declared, "The only unique, original idea ever conceived by another human being in the last century was that of Albert Einstein with his theory of relativity."

I thought about that statement for a long time: "Huh. The only unique idea in a century? Nobody else has ever offered an original thought since?" Over the years this statement has struck me as less and less credible when considering all of the progress of the 20th century. But let's just indulge Mr. Hurr for a moment, shall we? Let's think about this "unique" idea called the Theory of Relativity.

In referencing such theories we have to actually break them down into two separate theories: that of Special Relativity--published by Einstein in 1905--and that of General Relatively, published in 1916. One of the fundamental concepts that emerged as a result of these theories was--simply put--that time itself could be dilated or compressed and had to be measured differently depending upon the "sphere" or point of reference of a particular observer in the universe. Many experiments have been conducted to prove Einstein's theories. Perhaps a more dramatic of these was an experiment conducted in 1971 wherein two physicists, J. C. Hafele and Richard Keating, flew four portable caesium clocks around the world in high-flying passenger jets. They compared these atomic clocks at the beginning and end with reference clocks located on the ground at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. Two airplanes few east in their circumnavigation, and the others, west. After about three days, the eastbound clocks lost, on average, 59 nano seconds whereas the westbound clocks gained an average of 273 nanoseconds.

This was only one experiment that dramatized and "proved" Einsteins theories of time dilation and compression. So, according to Mr. Hurr, prior to Albert Einstein, the very concept of time as a maleable thing, moving differently depending upon one's point of reference had never crossed the mind of any other human being. It had hatched exclusively in the brain of Albert Einstein.

After I joined the Church in 1981 I soon had the privilege of reading the Pearl of Great Price, and in particular, the Book of Abraham. The origins of the Book of Abraham are as dramatic and mysterious as the doctrines it reveals. I won't take go into much of that. Suffice it to say that Joseph Smith translated, by the gift and power of God, a segment of a book attributed to the Prophet Abraham from some ancient papyrus (papyri?) found inside a number of Egyptian mummies sold to the Church in 1838. Various samples of these papyrus found their way into several locations over the decades after the Prophet's death. However, the prevalent belief is that the specific document from which Joseph Smith made his translation was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

In any case, certain declarations found in the 3rd Chapter of this work clearly elaborate upon the precise principle of time dilation and compression later proposed by Albert Einstein. Read Abraham 3:4-10. These scriptures are, quite simply, astonishing, especially when considering the era when they were first presented. In all fairness, there is a scripture in 2 Peter 3:8 which states: "...one day is with the Lord as a thousandyears, and a thousandyears as one day." Today some might credit Peter with offering a similar idea. However, prior to Joseph Smith and Einstien, this verse was never ascribed to anything beyond the mysteries affixed to mortal and immortal realms. It doesn't really elaborate upon the deeper concepts of time dilation and compression as expressed in the Pearl of Great Price. It took Abraham (through Joseph Smith) to layout the kind of complex ideologies later suggested by Einstein.

It would take up too much space to reprint these verses here, and yet it seems an injustice to print only a few, so before continuing, please take a moment, find Abr. 3:4-10, and digest them thoroughly.

Done? Okay. Let's go on.

Now let's return to Mr. Hurr's suggestion that Einstein was the only person in the 20th century to hatch a truly original idea. If this is in any way true, what does that say about Joseph Smith, who presented the same essential concepts seven decades before Einstein (albeit by virtue of a unique resource known as revelation and sans all the math)? Perhaps a more intriguing question is: When will Joseph Smith and the LDS Church be recognized for presenting some of the more fundamental concepts of Special Relativity some seventy years before the great Albert Einstein?

I'm certainly not one to begrudge (at present) the world's failure to recognize the contributions of modern prophets and the fullness of the Lord's gospel. But it seems unimaginable to me that even the most hardened skeptics who have at least a rudimentary knowledge of physics would not find themselves awestruck, impressed, or at the very least puzzled when presented with these seven verses. Try it on someone sometime. I'd love to hear the responses.

* * *

I couldn't help but notice that most of those who have pre-ordered Escape From Zarahemla, book or audio book, have failed to provide instructions as to who these books or CDs should be signed to. It may be that Amazon and www.frostcave.com doesn't really provide a clear way to give such instructions. Let me declare that it's not too late to provide me with the name of the book's future owner, whether signed to an individual or a whole family. Especially if this book is meant to be a gift, I think it's incumbantupon the buyer to take a moment and provide me with this info and, if necessary, declare the occasion (whether a Christmas or birthday present, etc.). Just reply to this email and I'll happily staple your instructions to your printed order. Thanks again for all your support!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Two weeks to pre-order the newest "Tennis Shoes" novel, Escape from Zarahemla. Yes, it's a sequel to story that began in (book and movie) Passageto Zarahemla. But as you read it you'll also understand why it's also a "Tennis Shoes" novel. I'm always tempted to reveal more than that, but it would ruin the story for many readers. So mum's the word. To pre-order, go to:http://www.frostcave.com/shop/

This Amazon thing has turned out to be a lot of fun, and nice support during the "lean" summer experienced by most LDS authors. I wanted to highlight of few of my favorite LDS novels from this season:

Thursday, September 1, 2011

It's September First! So, in theory, this means that my publisher, Covenant Communcation, AKA, Deseret Book, AKA, the LDS Church (many people don't realize that ALL of these companies, including Seagull Book, are subsidiaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which means that, technically, I'm a Church employee!)...Anyway, Escape From Zarahemla will release in 1 (say it with me--ONE!) month.

I finished the audio recording on my birthday, Aug. 26th. Took five days. (It's a long book!) and I was the sole narrator of this one (since it's written in 3rd person). Lots of voices. In the past I've been saddled with having to narrate when I've had a cold, or been all stuffed up, etc., and I can usually hear it in my voice. But for this one I was cold-free. The reading seemed as smooth as molasses. 8 CDs, from what they told me. Or $27.99. Although we are pre-selling it at $25.19 at www.frostcave.com. PRE-ORDER TODAY! If it's easier, just call me directly at 801-495-0555. Especially if you order more than one item. I can generally save folks $$ on shipping. Unlike the AMAZON philosophy, which generally tries to give the seller a dollar or more extra profit on any book sold, I don't believe in making any profit on shipping. I try to be very close to ACTUAL cost.

Those interested in more than one item should check out my books on Amazon. Every LDS author you can imagine--plus lots of great books in general. It's become kind of a sideline to help feed my oversized family. Over 500 products now. However, if you can, try to buy from me directly by calling. I can ALWAYS save you on shipping. To see the managerie of titles, go to:FrostCave on Amazon

Those who pre-order, especially if they live outside Utah, will likely recieve Escape From Zarahemlabefore their local bookstores. As I've said before, this IS a Tennis Shoes novel. Make no mistake about it. Portions of Book 12: Thorns ofGlory will be harder to follow without having read Escape.

Oh, and yeah, I had another birthday. I'm at that age when I don't much count such events anymore. But Emily bought me some nice shirts and new car mats for my Hundai Sonata. Yup, I own the most commonly sold vehicle in America. A few years ago I owned a Honda Accord, also the most commonly sold vehicle at that time. Now I own a Sonata. Next year, it's all Ferraris, but this year we'll stick with more practical modes of transport.

Little Hunter is doing great. Starting to smile. Very wiggly and determined. I predict he'll walk before he's a year old. Here are some additional pictures: